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Steelers Can't Extend Starks

Remember when the Steelers slapped a puzzling transition tag on Max Starks, it was all about figuring out a way to get a long-term deal with Starks--the $6.9 million transition tag was just a way to buy some time. And after all, the Steelers could pull the tag at any time.

Then Starks signed the deal--after getting no offers from any other team. It seemed like a disappointing development for the Steelers, but the team seemed to make it clear that it would work to get a long-term deal that would lower his massive cap hit.

Well, thrown all that out. At 4 p.m. yesterday, the Steelers' chances of working out a long-term deal with Starks disappeared. As a transition player, Starks now can not sign a new deal until after the 2008 season ends. So Pittsburgh is on the hook for $6.9 million (and the resulting cap hit) for a tackle who will head to training camp battling for a starting job. Yes, Starks is now one of the highest-paid tackles in the league, and he's not assured he'll be starter.

Now Pittsburgh faces a pair of bad situations. With both Bryant McFadden and Starks, the Steelers have a pair of potential starters who are headed into the final year of their deals. With each of them, if they earn starting jobs and play well, they'll likely price themselves out of the Steelers price range. And if they don't earn starting jobs this year, they're both be less likely to stick with the Steelers (why not go somewhere where you can start?).

Re: Steelers Can't Extend Starks

Remember when the Steelers slapped a puzzling transition tag on Max Starks, it was all about figuring out a way to get a long-term deal with Starks--the $6.9 million transition tag was just a way to buy some time. And after all, the Steelers could pull the tag at any time.

Then Starks signed the deal--after getting no offers from any other team. It seemed like a disappointing development for the Steelers, but the team seemed to make it clear that it would work to get a long-term deal that would lower his massive cap hit.

Well, thrown all that out. At 4 p.m. yesterday, the Steelers' chances of working out a long-term deal with Starks disappeared. As a transition player, Starks now can not sign a new deal until after the 2008 season ends. So Pittsburgh is on the hook for $6.9 million (and the resulting cap hit) for a tackle who will head to training camp battling for a starting job. Yes, Starks is now one of the highest-paid tackles in the league, and he's not assured he'll be starter.

Now Pittsburgh faces a pair of bad situations. With both Bryant McFadden and Starks, the Steelers have a pair of potential starters who are headed into the final year of their deals. With each of them, if they earn starting jobs and play well, they'll likely price themselves out of the Steelers price range. And if they don't earn starting jobs this year, they're both be less likely to stick with the Steelers (why not go somewhere where you can start?).

Wow!!!

And the Steelers didn't need to do this. Either way, I wouldn't want Starks back. He is Max Sucks, and, no matter how well he plays this season he will become Max Sucks for the poor losers who "show him the money".

Good for the Steelers that this will be his last season in Black and Gold.

Re: Steelers Can't Extend Starks

Originally Posted by birtikidis

yea i posted a reply to that on the trib. did they TRY to extend him? I get the feeling that they didn't...

If they didn't try, why bother with the transition tag? I seemed as though the rest of the league balked at a potentially high price tag anyway. The Steelers couldn't have liked this guy that much, could they have?

You're a good guy to ask about this, birt...how did Starks look in college, based upon your best recollection? Was he very good and just never developed any additional skills to help him in the pro game or was he always just about the same as he is now? Was he an overachiever? Did he simply gain too much weight to be effective?

One thing's for sure: someone in the Steelers FO has a real hard on for this guy. For $6.9M, that one expensive hard on!

Re: Steelers Can't Extend Starks

Originally Posted by buckeyehoppy

Originally Posted by birtikidis

yea i posted a reply to that on the trib. did they TRY to extend him? I get the feeling that they didn't...

If they didn't try, why bother with the transition tag? I seemed as though the rest of the league balked at a potentially high price tag anyway. The Steelers couldn't have liked this guy that much, could they have?

You're a good guy to ask about this, birt...how did Starks look in college, based upon your best recollection? Was he very good and just never developed any additional skills to help him in the pro game or was he always just about the same as he is now? Was he an overachiever? Did he simply gain too much weight to be effective?

One thing's for sure: someone in the Steelers FO has a real hard on for this guy. For $6.9M, that one expensive hard on!

yea, the reason I like starks so much is because how good he was here. He played both RT and LT and LG and was pretty damn good at all of them. His question mark in college was run blocking. seems he flipped. Of course we didnt' have the greatest run game at the time (Wynn, Graham, Gillespie*I think was still here) but we were a very good passing team. The last I heard was that he was close to signing a long term deal (from one of his old teammates that I coach with). I asked Mo Mitchell (his old teammate) to bring me some of their tapes so I could watch them again but he hasn't gotten them to me yet.
A friend of mine who has been friends with Max for a long time and played against him (Reggie Washington who played at Vandy) told me that the transition that Tomlin is moving to with the OL doesn't fit Max too well and he's having trouble with aspects of it. he didn't go into detail but he said that max had been working his a$$ off in Arizona. He went on to say that Max got A LOT stronger and that he changed his routine in the weight room. Max comes into Gainesville every now and then. I'm going to try to catch him the next time he's here.
two asides:
Mo was at Dallas Bakers place a few weeks ago and worked out with him and he said that Dallas is in GREAT shape. very fast and fluid.
I have been trying to get in touch with the strength coach at UF I have been wanting to ask him the routine they use for the OL and have him outline it for me. I'll casually mention Max and see what he says... lol.

Re: Steelers Can't Extend Starks

Originally Posted by buckeyehoppy

Originally Posted by birtikidis

yea i posted a reply to that on the trib. did they TRY to extend him? I get the feeling that they didn't...

If they didn't try, why bother with the transition tag? I seemed as though the rest of the league balked at a potentially high price tag anyway. The Steelers couldn't have liked this guy that much, could they have?

You're a good guy to ask about this, birt...how did Starks look in college, based upon your best recollection? Was he very good and just never developed any additional skills to help him in the pro game or was he always just about the same as he is now? Was he an overachiever? Did he simply gain too much weight to be effective?

One thing's for sure: someone in the Steelers FO has a real hard on for this guy. For $6.9M, that one expensive hard on!

Buckeye, if you don't mind, I'll weigh in as well. First of all I want to say that this seems like a very bad move by our front office...it's a no-win situation for us, aside from the depth it'll provide for one season in case of injury. I'm still glad we have Starks for this year and no one has been able to plausibly offer some free agent we missed out on as a result of the extra money spent, so I'm not going to start freaking out over this like a few on here and the Trib board are sure to do. This also guarantees that either Smith or Starks (or both) will be gone after this season (which is no huge revelation). We either extend Smith before the season or 2008 becomes a year-long battle between these two to make the biggest impression. Since the tag doesn't apply to Smith or McFadden we can still negotiate an extension at any time, so hopefully we can sign one or both of them if they really shine in camp and preseason. However, with Smith's injury recovery it'd probably be wise to let the two big guys battle. I kind of hope that Starks didn't burn any bridges by refusing to deal because it most likely will limit our options next off-season.

I wonder how the ownership situation will effect this. If the Rooney's are able to buy out a majority share, they'll be presumably strapped over the next several years and will undoubtedly be hesitant to spend big. If someone like Drunkenmiller comes in, he'll have the capital and the ego of any billionaire that will drive him to do everything he can to put a winner on the field. My heart says Rooney and my mind says Drukenmiller. My heart has let me down a lot more than the mind has (I'm sure some would find that hard to believe), so I find myself rooting for change at the top. Blasphemy? Yeah sure, I've loved what the Rooney's have meant to this team and I have a lot of respect for the way they do things. But in the end, it'a all about the product on the field and how I feel heading home several drunken Sundays each year...sorry Rooneys.

As far as Starks, I've been a pretty big Gator fan for over 25 years and I thought very Highly of Max while he was at UF. A big man who played equally well on the left and the right and even some at guard for four years. As a matter of fact, I wanted us to draft him with our second pick in '04 and I don't ever go around doing that simply because a guy is just a Gator...at least not since Huey Richardson> But Starks was smart (35 Wonderlic score), obviously massive, and came from one of the most decorated families in NFL history. I think he showed promise as a rookie and played pretty darn good as a starter on a Super Bowl champion in his second season. His third year he admittedly showed up seeming complacent and definitely out of shape and he sucked. Last season I thought he looked in the best shape of his career. All reports out of camp had Starks handily winning the RT spot in the competition with Colon before the Hall of Fame game was even played. Then he mysteriously became the guy to cover for Marvel at LT when we had to sit him out and Colon was left to get all of the reps at RT.

I think Max was a victim of the staff (particularly Arians and Zierlein) being enamored with Colon's nastiness and in their mind cracking the top five on the team. They knew Colon couldn't play LT and if there was a situation with Smith they needed to have someone there not named Trai Essex. While he was horrible in the preseason there, he finished strong in the four games as a starter down the stretch. Those who cite the sloppy conditions of Heinz field are parroting the same crap that other people (who have no idea) spew over and over. From the pictures I've seen this off-sean Max is a friggin' ripped beast (at least comparatively) and I think he'll do well this season and claim back the starting RT spot. The only way this will work for us is if he plays good, but not so good to price himself out our range, OR if Smith can stay healthy and have a good enough season to make him the contract offer.
If we lose both...well, I guess we're pretty much screwed.